NSA's Reply to Man's FOIA Request: No Comment

If you want to know whether the NSA is spying on you, making a FOIA request sounds like a smart idea. But it doesn't mean the super-secret agency has to give you a definitive answer.

ProPublica's Jeff Larson submitted a request for any data the National Security Agency had on him, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). But he received a decidedly vague letter in response, claiming that telling him one way or another would aid "our adversaries."

The NSA may send you a similar response if you ask them about what information they have on you.

Part of the reason the NSA can stonewall a request for information is the potential threat to national security.

Glomar Responses and You

The boilerplate response to neither confirm nor deny the requested information is commonly called a Glomar denial. The term comes from the name of a ship called the Hughes Glomar Explorer, which was the subject of an information request.